Western States 100 Mile Entry

Congratulations to Jon Paradowski, eighth time lucky on the Western States lottery drawn today. The Western States 100 mile race is the oldest in North America, and has been called the unofficial world championships of 100 mile trail racing. The race admits 40 elite runners and 345 runners by lottery-a lottery which over 9,300 runners entered this year. And not just anyone can enter the lottery. Runners have to qualify by finishing one of the allowed ultra trail races of 100 km to 100 miles. WS organizers allot one lottery ticket to a first time entrant. If you don’t get picked, and qualify the next year, you double your tickets. Jon has missed getting drawn 7 years in a row, and with his qualification at this year’s Big Horn trail 100 miler, he had 128 lottery tickets!

Over the eight years of qualifying, Jon has run through constant rain, super hot conditions, altitude, and lots and lots of climbing. At the Javelina Jundred 100 km race in Arizona one year, the race director wanted to pull Jon from the race as he thought Jon broke his arm in a fall during the race. Jon drove to a hospital, talked the staff into giving him a quick x-ray, and returned to the race with a doctor’s report that his arm was not broken. The director readmitted him to the race; he finished; and kept his streak of doubling lottery tickets alive.

Congratulations Jon, on your perseverance and good humour over this ordeal. No one could deserve an entry more than you!

Most Inspiring Runner of the Year

Here are the nominated runners for Most Inspiring Runner for 2023.

Cari Bode earned her Abbott major marathon six star medal this year at Tokyo. This is a daunting challenge for many people, as just getting into the six marathons (Boston, New York, Berlin, London, Chicago and Tokyo) can be difficult, let alone traveling to and running them. Cari’s path had more bumps than most. She was set to finish the six races at the 2019 Tokyo marathon; however doctors discovered after her 2018 Chicago marathon that she had a rare cancer. Cari went through a year of chemotherapy and surgeries. At first, it was difficult to walk for five minutes on her treadmill. But she continued to keep training, gradually increasing her distances. This year's Tokyo marathon was her first marathon since being diagnosed with cancer.

Heidi Schmalz - our queen of the 100 miles did her first 200 miler this year at the Continental Divide in BC. Heidi and Jon Paradowski entered, trained and ran together. They made it through a really tough first section that required lots of climbing, way-finding and bushwakking through unforgivable terrain. Then after 200 km, Jon sprained his ankle and they were forced to walk/hobble for five hours to get help. Heidi ran through four days and four nights! finishing just three hours before cutoff. Those of you who know Heidi also know that she downplays her accomplishments, and always builds up others. She has a constant positive attitude!

Jan Steenkamp and Tania Diener completed 14 marathons and ultras this year, doing multiple marathons in a row, as well as volunteering at many events. Tania earned her Abbott major marathon six star medal at the Boston marathon. Jan is staying sane even when injured.

Dale Harvey for completing his quest to run a half-marathon in all fifty US states.

Jason and Melissa Burns - for showing us that strong can also go with fast. The duo completed at least 4 ultramarathons this year, including a number of age group wins in obstacle races. 

Kerri Clark - ran her furthest ever at  the Canada Goose event - 56 km. With two laps to go, she looked completely exhausted, but summoned the mental strength to persevere. It was hard, and it was impressive.

Darwin Weimer - finished his 300th marathon. Just wow.

Marcella Zatwarnitski - is a runner who exemplifies dedication and gradual improvement. Her steady training led her to a number of PRs this year, as well as completing 76 km at the Canada Goose.

Gaylene Jeannot qualified for the Wanda age group marathon championships in Chicago and set a PR there this year.

Jon Paradowski finished another 100 mile race this year at the Big Horn in Wyoming - one of the hardest 100 milers in North America. The climbs were tough and the weather sucked with killer mud making it very difficult to finish. Jon said he fell every 10 feet in some sections - his shoes even came apart from all the sliding around in the mud. Jon was particularly motivated to finish because he needed it to qualify for the Western States 100 miler. Every year, Western States allows fewer than 400 runners but thousands apply. Every year that you qualify but don’t get drawn in the lottery, your lottery tickers double. Having missed lottery selection for 7 years, Jon now gets 128 tickets. Had he not finished, he’d get 1 ticket. Jon also entered Canada’s first 200 mile race, but sprained his ankle after running more than 200 kms. He had to hobble to an aid station for 5 hours. Jon’s embrace of adventure paired with diligent planning and training are inspiring.

Michael Dahlman - for showing us the joy of communal running! Michael organized groups to travel to races, and started up the Wednesday night Run Club where he keeps everyone informed and involved. Michael also set a ten minute PR at the Fargo marathon and completed another world major marathon in New York. How fitting that he's our new President!

Abbey Schmidt had a PR year, setting personal records in the marathon and half-marathon, and finishing Boston and Berlin. She won a silver medal for her age group at the World Police and Fire Games. 

Lorraine Brezinski  has had a most inspiring journey on her way to becoming a runner. She has described herself as an overweight kid who was bullied, but has worked herself into becoming one of the fittest runners in Regina. She qualified for and ran the New York City marathon a few years ago, but lately has been focusing on shorter distances, winning several 20 km and half marathons this year, and being the winningest runner at Wascana Park Run!

Club Builder of the Year

Wanda Bouchard-Barry is indispensable to our club events. She is a key figure, dare I say, THE key figure behind the Canada Goose Ultra and the Gopher Attack marathon. Before the races, Wanda calls up people and enlists them as volunteers. During package pick up and race days, she is a bundle of energy, keeping all the juggling balls in the air. At the Canada Goose, she stays up all night, tending to the runners who, after 12 hours of running, have begun to act like preschoolers. She is a wise voice when issues arise, and keeps events running smoothly. And this year, Wanda did something for herself - training for and completing the 20 km event at the Beaver Flat Fifty.

Shelley Zerr - for cheerfully taking photos of runners in all kinds of weather

Michel Turmel - Michel is simply the club’s everything man. He’s on the Executive, setting up the membership website; he volunteers days, not hours, to our two major races, and he was our hardest worker setting up our first summer picnic. He does it all with a smile on his face, and a friendly encouraging word to all runners.

Seattle Marathon, November 26, 2023

Tania Diener and Jan Steenkamp have just completed their 14th marathon of the year! Tania ran the Seattle marathon in 5:17:41, good for 18th place in W60. Jan ran 5:40:36 for 22nd place in M60, despite just having overcome a stress fracture. Very impressive , congratulations !

New York City Marathon, November 5, 2023

Congrats to the Regina runners at the New York City Marathon today! It’s possibly the most difficult of the six world major marathons, but the spectators are the world’s best. Our Regina runners got to enjoy them in style, with superb performances !

Scott Kiefer ran 2:58:18 for an impressive 236th in M35

Michael Dahlman ran 3:49:59 for 1375th in M40

Congrats to these two who represented Regina so well.

Victoria Half-Marathon, October 8, 2023

Congrats to Debra Anderson who ran the Victoria half marathon. Deb finished in 2:52:48 for 25th place in W65. Congratulations Deb!

Chicago Marathon, October 8, 2023

Congratulations to our Regina runners at the Chicago marathon - one of the six Abbott world majors, and incredibly competitive. Our runners did well! Yvonne Cafik notched the top age group placing and Gaylene Jeannot had the fastest time, and she also ran in the Wanda age group championships, as shown by the second medal in the photo. And…special note: it was Max Ziegler’s first marathon! Here are the results:

Gaylene Jeannot 3:43:32,301W50

Yvonne Cafik 3:51:07 157W55

Jaimie Mimbs 3:52:36 665 W45

Jennifer Masur 4:00:59 571 W50

Matthew Speidel 4:22:34 2874th M40

Stacey Cattell 4:26:44 1193 M55

Patti Sandison Cattell 4:26:44 222W60

Tammy Serbu 5:22:17 2141st W45

Max Ziegler, 5:30:22 3495thM30

Congratulations to these runners on their accomplishments!

Chester Marathon, England/Wales, October 8, 2023

Congrats to Gay Renouf for her marathon in Chester (England/Wales) in 4:43:14, good for 12th in W60.

Mainly Marathon Series, SD, ND, MT, October 5-7, 2023

Congrats to our most prolific marathoners, Jan Steenkamp and Tania Diener, who just finished three marathons in three days! This makes 13 marathons so far in 2023! They ran in the Center of the Nation Series, completing marathons in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, Bowman, North Dakota, and Baker, Montana.

Jan finished in 5:46:38, 6:28:48, and 6:04:10, good for 7th, 12th, and 7th in the Men’s category. Tania ran in 6:05:59, 6:28:48, and 6:14:01, for 3rd, 6th, and 8th in the women’s category.

Congratulations on this impressive feat!

Montreal, Quebec City Half-Marathons, Sept 24, Oct 1, 2023

Michel and Patrice Turmel checked out the Quebec racing scene with the back to back Montreal/Quebec City races. Even better, they ran it with family. Daughter Nicole, her boyfriend Brent, and Patrice ran the 5k in Montreal on September 24, while Michel took on the half-marathon (2:06:27 for 86th in M60-69).

Then a week later, Patrice finished the Quebec City marathon in a gun time of 2:29:47 for 25th in W60-69, and Michel ran 2:11:12 for 49th in M60-69. Michel reported that the course was beautiful but had lots of climbing and steep descents.

Congratulations you two!

P'tit Train du Nord Marathon, October 1, 2023

Congrats to two of our Regina runners who took on the quad-trashing P’tit Train du Nord marathon in the Quebec Laurentians. Elizabeth Tomczak finished as 8th woman overall and 2nd in the W35 in a cracking 3:03:44. Craig Herrington also ran a Boston-qualifying 3:12:48 and placed 27th in the M45 age group. Congrats to this speedy duo!

Berlin Marathon, September 24, 2023

We have two impressive Regina results from the Berlin marathon! Berlin is one of the six Abbott World majors, and of course is very competitive. Our Regina ladies did us proud! Abbey Schmidt finished in 3:33:28 for 290th on the huge W35 age group; and Nancy Mackenzie placed a very impressive 36th in W60 with 3:53:22.

Berlin has the reputation of being fast, but crowds slow runners down and prevent them from running the shortest tangents. These times are all the more impressive considering the extra distance run.

Congrats ladies - Regina is proud of you.

Beaver Flat Fifty, Saskatchewan Landing, September 16, 2023

As most Regina folks know, the Beaver Flat Fifty trail race is emphatically not flat. The race, held in Saskatchewan Landing on Sept 16, has 2300 m of elevation over 50 km! The organizers boast that this is a race that “will have you begging for less”, and that it’s “the worst thing you’ll do in September “. To add to the grimness, race conditions were hot!!

Full results are here, and since the website does not list city, we highlight only the MM club member results for the 20 and 50 km. https://zone4.ca/race/2023-09-16/e3b7b22c/results

Congrats to third place woman Alicia Moore and age group podium placers Joanne Noll and Chris Soika!

In a lovely turn of events, our club's stalwart volunteers Don Meek and Queen of the Night, Wanda Bouchard Barry, took on the race - as you can see from the photos, they had a fabulous time.

50 km

Cameron Mang,5:56:56,7th Open Men (OM)

Alicia Moore,7:41:57,3rd W

Trevor Hopkin,7:42:10,6th Masters Men (MM)

Ryan Clark,7:58:44,39th OM

Allison Szeles,8:23:21,7th OW

Jason Hubick,8:52:24,10th MM

Zoe Clin,8:54:39,13th OW

Cam Thick,10:41:10,20th MM

20 km

Chris Soika,2:19:25,2nd MM

Joanne Noll,2:44:28,3rd MW

Chad Fenrick,2:50:51,15th MM

Christopher Hall,2:51:53,16th MM

Victoria Oppenlander,3:12:21,26th OW

Wendy Tomyk,3:19:26,9th MW

Frankie Pelletier,3:44:59,13th MW

Shelley Zerr,4:05:04,17th MW

Wanda Bouchard Barry,5:56:47,19th MW

Don Meek,5:56:48, 28th MM

Divide 200, Continental Divide, BC and Alberta, September 11-16, 2023

We have great news from the conclusion of Canada’s first 200 mile race. That’s right, 200 miles, not kilometres. The Divide 200 covers 335 km from Castle Mountain to Crowsnest pass, along the continental divide, gaining 12,335 m of elevation. The organizers boast about how tough it is, saying that in addition to the single and double track, there are stream crossings, cross country, bushwhacking, route finding and scrambling. Racers had 100 hours to complete, starting on September 11.

Our two Lumsden and Regina heroes, Heidi Schmalz and Jon Paradowski, are both very experienced trail ultra runners with many 100 milers and longer in their resumes. They decided to team up and run the entire event together. Luckily, as Heidi put it, they had similar strengths - not only were their paces similar, but they had similar paces for both climbing and descending.

Surprisingly, the first part was the hardest, at least in terms of making the time cutoffs. Jon and Heidi ran with their Alberta friend, Shane Mascarin. I’m going to steal from Shane’s FB post since he described the first 70 km so vividly: “there was a 50 km section that had 3,500 m of gain that was unforgivable terrain from steep bush whacking to crazy steep declines. The large sections of trail without water were crazy tough…it took 17.5 hours to do the first 70 km.”

The time cutoffs eased up after 70 km, and Heidi and Jon were able to take some naps (check out the photo). Then after more than 200 km and three nights and days of running, Jon rolled an ankle. Nurse Heidi improvised a tensor bandage out of her leggings, and they walked 5 hours with Jon’s injured ankle to get help. Jon got good medical care in Coleman. Luckily, there was a village to support the runners, and Alex stepped in to pace Heidi through the fourth night and the rest of the way. The all important crew members were Marsha Crossman, Robyn Oborowsky, and Kim.

Heidi finished in 96 hours and 47 minutes! She was the 20th woman to finish. Please pass on your congratulations to these two absolutely incredible and tenacious runners!

Lost Soul Ultra, Lethbridge AB, September 9, 2023

While most of the local runners were doing the QCM, three ultra trail runners went to the famously gnarly Lost Souls ultra in Lethbridge.

The race is a mix of single track through the Old Man River valley with some shale, gravel roads and pavement mixed in for good measure. The 100 km has approximately 3,000 m of elevation incline and decline - about 50% more than in previous years. Most of the hills are 50 - 80 m and they just keep coming and coming.

Melissa and Jason Burns ran the 100 km, helped by the “best crew person in Erin Knuttila. Her smile and enthusiasm during the aid station stops made all the difference in the world. That is her between us in the photo at the finish.” Melissa earned a top ten finish (7th woman and 2nd W40) in 18:55:23, and Jason was 31st in men and 10th in M40 in 17:16:43.

Harold Litzenberger ran the 100 miles and earned 12th man (1st M50) in 31:25:01.

Congratulations to Melissa, Jason, and Harold for these great achievements!

Queen City Marathon, Regina, September 10, 2023

Congrats to the runners at the Queen City Marathon  on September 10. Weren’t the volunteers spectacular? Here are the results for MM club members. 

Special congrats to Elizabeth Tomczak, the women’s winner in the half-marathon!

Congrats to age group winners Rand Luhning, Lorraine Brezinski, Gaylene Jeannot!

Marathon

Devin Gabel,3:30:25,12M40

Warren Foord,3:44:26,23M30

Chris Soika,3:58:35,19M40

Razvan Rusescu,4:04:33,35M30

Derrick Fisher,4:08:38,23M40

Nick Dalrymple,4:10:05,24M40

Aly Phee,4:21:51,12W40

Gay Renouf,4:31:54,3W60

Rand Luhning,5:04:39,1M70+

Tania Diener,5:14:58,9W50

Jobel Vicente,5:15:46,43M40

Kate James,5:17:14,20W30

Jan Steenkamp,5:20:32,15M60

Trevor LaRose,5:30:34,46M40

Lee-Ann Ricci,5:30:47,6W60 (pacer)

Darwin Weimer,6:00:36,19M60

Marathon Walk

Teresa Donley 5:58:26 for 4th W!

Half-Marathon

Elizabeth Tomczak,1:25:46,1stW

Craig Herrington,1:25:47,2M40

David MacDonald,1:31:02,4M40

Lorraine Brezinski,1:35:01,1W40

Gaylene Jeannot,1:42:24,1W50

Matt Stephenson,1:45:43,47M30

Billy Cawthorn,1:47:32,16M20

Kayleigh Norris,1:48:53,22W30

Rebecca Sweeney,1:49:09,6W20

Christopher Hall,1:49:25,32M40

Ryan Clark,1:49:54,62M30 (pacer)

Zack Dumont,1:48:09,34M40

Ryan Baete,1:53:54,39M40

Shaun Quinney,1:54:58,43M40

Dallas Irwin,1:58:16,62M40

Michael Dahlman,1:59:56,63M40 (pacer)

Morgan Allen,1:58:46,89M30

Michel Turmel,2:05:16,15M60

Blair Morris,2:08:30,32M50

Dennis Nguyen,2:12:57,42M20

April Lloyd,2:13:41,22W50

Michael Szeles,2:14:34,113M30 (pacer)

Wendy Tomyk,2:15:11,13W60

Jannike Matlock,2:15:15,100W30

Patrice Turmel,2:15:48,15W60

Douglas Sellinger,2:16:09,40M50

Dale Harvey,2:17:55,28M60

Tammy Serbu,2:17:38,57W40

Angela Morris,2:18:03,58W40

Kerri Finlay,2:28:33,73W40

Marcella Zatwarniski,2:29:14,36W50 (pacer)

Sandy MacDonald,2:33:25,2W70+

Deanne Selinger,2:41:11,93W40

Susan Schneider,2:43:45,22W60

Heather Stronge,2:49:02

Debra Anderson,2:48:50,23W60

Don Ditson,2:50:01,9M70+

Kerri Clark,3:11:40,107W40

Prairie Nightmare Backyard Race, Echo Lake, August 26, 2023

Congrats to the athletes who ran the Prairie Nightmare at Echo Lake on August 26-27. The backyard race format has each runner completing a loop of 6.7 km every hour. If you run it in 35 min, you get a 25 minute break until the next lap starts. If you run it in 58 minutes, your break is only two minutes. Each runner keeps going until they can’t complete the lap in time, or they give up. The race continues until there is only one runner left - the last man/woman standing- they run one more loop to become the winner.

This year, that last man standing was Preston Schaffer. The last woman standing was Heidi Tymko. Special mention has to go to the eight runners who ran their personal longest distances: Heidi Tymko, Halle Johnson, Zoey Kim-Zeggelaar, Joanne Noll, Warner Ignatiuk, Dallas Irwin, Ryley Slywka, and Danylo Ignatiuk!

Results - Nightmare event

Preston Schaffer, 21 laps or 140.9 k

Derek Anaquod 20, 134.2k

Jon Sloman official 18, ran 19 or 127.5k

Elias Williams 17, 114.1k

Chris Tetlock 11, 73.8k

Heidi Tymko 10, 67.1k

Halle Johnson 8, 53.7k

Zoey Kim-Zeggelaar 8,53.7k

Joanne Noll official 7, ran 7 plus or 50.0k

Warner Ignatiuk 7, 47.0k

Dallas Irwin 7, 47.0k

Ryley Slywka 7, 47.0k

Sheila Durey 7, 47.0k

Melissa Burns 6, 40.3k

Jason Burns 6, 40.3k

Danylo Ignatiuk 5, 33.6k

Blair Morris 5, 33.6k

Tammy Serbu 5, 33.6k

Omri Lifschitz official 4, ran 5 or 33.6k

Landen Hill 4, 26.8k

Amanda Rist 4, 26.8k

Natasha Lumsden 2, 13.4K

Bronson Pasichniuk 2, 13.4K

Daydream event

Jannike Matlock 5, 33.6k

Wendy Tomyk 5, 33.6k

Angela Morris 5, 33.6k

Heidi Schmalz 5, 33.6k

Shawn Seguin 5, 33.6k

Jason Hubick 4, 26.8k

Jodine Landman 4, 26.8k

Paul Westgate 4, 26.8k

Karolina Palka 3, 20.1k

Shawn Quinney 3, 20.1k

Congrats all!

Iron Legs Ultra Trail Race, Bragg Creek AB, August 19, 2023

Regina runners challenged the Rockies at the Iron Legs ultra near Bragg Creek on August 19. The course is extremely demanding- the ”50 mile” event is actually 54 miles with 4,200 m of elevation gain - the most of any 50 mile race in Canada. It’s hot, can be exposed, and has some challenging single track.

Regina had two teams tackling the 50 mile relay. Jenna Bedel, Kevin Bedel and Tiffany Mellon finished in about 13 hours (no reported chip timing), and placed third overall! Melissa and Jason Burns finished in 13:58.

We had two runners in individual events too. Both Jason Hubick and Sheila Durey had to pull out after running and climbing for 40 km.

Congrats on a superlative run!

Edmonton Marathon, August 20, 2023

Congratulations to our runners at the Edmonton marathon yesterday. Lisa Hoffart set the new fastest Saskatchewan women’s time for 2023 in 3:00:45, placing second in the W30-39. The 2023 Saskatchewan men’s best time was also set - by Quintan Fast from Saskatoon in 2:36: 07.

Half-Marathon Results

Laura Sullivan, 1:28:33,17th W30

Pam Herbert Maindold, 2:18:22,111th W40

Natasha Lumsden, 2:32:11,145th W40

Tom Cochrane, 2:36:47,42nd M60

Cheryl Cochrane, 2:36:47,48th W50

Shannon Obey, 3:23:32,290th W30

Well done runners!

Loop the Lake Half Marathon, Invermere BC, August 12, 2023

Congrats to Craig Herrington on his excellent finish at the Loop the Lake half marathon in Invermere BC. Craig actually went off course on the trails and had to run some super steep sections, plus an extra 250 m. And yet! He still ran 1:35:55 for 2nd in M40 and fourth overall. Way to go, Craig!

ET Full Moon Midnight Marathon, Rachel NV, Aug 6, 2023

Congratulations to Tania Diener and Jan Steenkamp for finishing their 9th marathons/ultras of the year. This one was a doozy! The ET midnight marathon is held in the Area 51 region of Nevada - the area known for UFO sightings. So of course the run starts at midnight, and the medals are glow-in-the-dark aliens. The course is at high altitude- 4,000 to 5,600 ft with 268 m of elevation gain and loss. Jan reported that he and Tania both had nosebleeds!

Tania finished in 5:40:48 (4th W50) and Jan finished in 5:54:02 (3rd M60). Well done, you two!

Canadian Death Race, Grande Cache AB, Aug 5-6, 2023

Death Racceeerrrr! Cameron Mang excelled at the prestigious trail ultra in Grande Cache Alberta. The Death Race is a 118 km race that summits three mountains for an elevation gain and loss of 5180 m, much of it on single track, or barely-there track. participants came from around the world to test themselves in the Canadian Rockies, and Regina’s Cameron Mang was among the best. Cameron placed 6th M in a time of 15:16:43.

In the Near Death Marathon event - 2130 m of elevation over a marathon, Regina’s Dylan Posehn placed 82nd in 7:24:23.

Congratulations, well done, runners!

Hoot and Howl 12 Hour Ultra Trail Race, Wascana Trails, July 29, 2023

Congratulations to the runners who participated in last week’s first night time timed race in Saskatchewan. the Hoot and Howl took place at Wascana Trails on July 29 from 6 pm to 6 am. Runners enjoyed the changing night atmosphere, the mostly single track trail and the chance to see deer, porcupines, and raccoons. The course was incredibly well marked and supported by RD Jason Hubick and his volunteers including our own Queen of the Night, Wanda Bouchard-Barry.

The top distances for men and women were Elias Williams with 90 km, and 83 km for Heidi Schmalz and Jennifer Kripki. Full results are on the Hoot and Howl Facebook page. Here are the results for MM club members:

Conrad Nixon, 80 k

Melissa Burns, 80 k

Zoe Clin, 70 k

Jason Burns, 70 k

Wendy Tomyk, 53 k

Trevor LaRose, 50 k

Sheila Durey, 50 k

Gay Renouf, 33 k

Allison Szeles, 30 k

Zoey Kim-Zegelaar, 30 k

Christopher Hall, 30 k

Tammy Serbu, 30 k

Natasha Lumsden, 20 k

World Police and Fire Games - Half Marathon, Winnipeg, July 29, 2023

Congratulations to Abbey Schmidt who competed in the World Police and Fire Games in Winnipeg. Abbey not only won the silver medal in W35 in the half-marathon, she also set a PR in 1:38:09. 

Congrats, Abbey, we are so proud of you!

Sea Me Run Half Marathon, Barrington, NS, July 23, 2023

Congrats to Paula Bzdell on her age group win in the half marathon at the Sea Me Run in Barrington NS. Paula ran 1:45:54 to take the W50-59 category. Nicely done Paula!

Mainly Marathons Summer Camp - River Runoff and Wandering Wolf Marathons, Minnesota, July 16, 17, 2023

Congratulations to our most prolific marathoners! Jan Steenkamp and Tania Diener have added to their impressive tally to reach 8 marathons and ultras for the year so far. They completed the River Runoff on Jul 16 and the Wandering Wolf on July 17 - both in Minnesota. They ran the same time of 5:42:26 for the first run (3rd fastest man and 2nd fastest woman). The second run was on trails - Jan ran 6:06:24 and Tania ran 6:20:18 (4th M and 1st W).

The races are part of the Mainly Marathons series, which helps runners to do races on consecutive days. Jan and Tania also received those artistic framed awards of the bird skulls because they completed 25 marathons in the series.

And as a cherry on the sundae, they also ran the local park run!

Congrats you two; we are so proud of you!

Sinister 7 Ultra Trail Race, Blairmore AB, July 8, 9, 2023

Wow - so much excitement at the Sinister 7 trail ultra in Alberta on July 8 and 9! The Sinister 7 is a 7 stage relay, or a solo race of 100 miles, 50 miles, or 50 km. Each distance has impressive amounts of climbing: 6363, 2985, and 2255 m of elevation gain, respectively. The trails are rugged, sometimes muddy, and the day was hot and sunny. Our Regina runners persevered and thrived.

Special mentions go to Preston Schaffer, who finished the very difficult 100 miles; Andrew Burant and Cameron Mang who nabbed top ten finishes in the 50 mile and 50k; and a very special mention to Sheila Williams Durey, who was running the 50 km. Sheila reported, “with 3 km to go, I encountered a woman in bad shape and stayed with her until they were able to assist her off the mountain “. Once her rescue duties were fulfilled, Sheila crushed the final 3 km.

Regina results (plus) were:

100 mile

Preston Schaffer, 29:36:31, 39th M

Trevor LaRose, finished four legs

Jon Sloman, finished three legs

50 mile

Andrew Burant, 10:56:26, 8th M

Harold Litzenberger, 13:56:17, 44th M

Heidi Schmaltz, 15:08:58, 28th W

Jason Hubick, 16:04:48, 72nd M

Cam Thick, 16:54:16, 83rd M

50 km

Cameron Mang, 5:55:51, 7th M

Sheila Durey, 11:55:19, 96th W

Relay 100 miles

Achy Breaky Bowels (Erin Knutilla, Joanne Noll, Melissa Burns, Jason Burns, Jenna Bedel, Tiffany Mellon, Krista Baliko), 23:49:00, 55th mixed team

Dennis Dreher on Hypothalmaniacs, 24:02:17, 61st mixed team

Banff Marathon, June 18, 2023

Congrats to our Regina runners in the Banff marathon. one week after doing an ultra, Jan and Tania were finishing another marathon. 

Jan Steenkamp, 5:11:49, 8th M60

Tania Diener, 5:18:01, 6th W55

Also congrats to these Regina half-marathoners:

Ryan Gaube 1:46:41 21st M30

Chelsey Dorosh 1:55:54 6th W35

Gerald Estioco 2:12:26,16th M45

Kristal Lockhart 2:23:25 55th W35

Stacy Allen 2:43:40 67th W40

Monique Bowes 2:43:40 44th W45

Manitoba Marathon, Winnipeg, June 18, 2023

Congrats to our Regina runners at the Manitoba marathon! Lisa Hoffart ran one of the top times in the half marathon! Results are:

Marathon

Alvin Yau,4:02:58

Alison Purdy,5:26:26,4th W60

Half-Marathon

Lisa Hoffart, 1:27:43,4th W35

Troy Jule,1:35:29,20th M30

Darryl Meier,1:48:15,6th M55

Dayna Galger,1:50:13, 10th W30

Alex Lyon,2:16:37,114th M25

Sherry Meier,2:42:08,36th W50

Big Horn, 100 Mile Race, Dayton, WY, June 16, 17, 2023

Congrats to Jon Paradowski for his finish of the Bighorn Trail 100 miler in Wyoming. Jon finished the race in 34:51:34 for 48th in M40. The Big Horn is rated as one of North America’s hardest 100 milers with 21,000 feet of elevation gain and loss, and 76 miles of technical single track. This year, the weather made the course even tougher with 2 degree temperatures and drenching rain the night before turning the trail into shoe sucking mud. Jon declared this was the hardest buckle he’s ever earned, labelling the course “killer mud” and saying he fell every 10 feet at times. In the final photo, you can see how Jon's shoe came apart at the seams owing to all the sliding in the mud!

The photo shows Jon and his crew Marsha Crossman at the finish. Jon noted how vital it was to have Marsha there to crew him, “I couldn’t have done it without her”.

The Big Horn race is a qualifier for the Western States - arguably the world’s most prestigious 100 miler - but it only admits 380 runners. Runners first qualify for Western States and then are entered into a lottery to gain entry. The first year that a runner qualifies, he/she gets one lottery ticket. Each year the runner qualifies and doesn’t get in, the number of lottery tickets doubles. Jon has missed for 7 years in a row. His Big Horn finish will give him that crucial 8th year of 128 lottery tickets. So congrats

to Jon for not only finishing a gruelling race, but also for getting closer to being able to enter Western States!

Landerlauf Half-Marathon, Basel, Switzerland, May 21, 2023

World travellers/runners, Tania Diener and Jan Steenkamp, have done more world travelling …all in one race. At the Landerlauf half-marathon, they ran from Switzerland to France to Germany and back to Switzerland! The race was on roads and trails, in a ark in Germany and along the Rhine. The duo finished in 2:31:09, giving Tania 9th place in W60 and Jan 50th place in M60. Congratulations!

Fargo Marathon, North Dakota, May 20, 2023

Race day in Fargo was kind to our Regina athletes. We love to celebrate PRs and Michael Dahlman earned a ten minute PR!

Here are the Regina results (note age groups are ten year brackets):

Marathon

Logan Strong, 3:21:59, 4th W30

Ryan Clark, 3:22:44, 29th M30

Michael Dahlman, 3:47:05, 39th M40

Allison Samoleski, 4:09:59, 42nd W40

Chantel De Lorme, 4:26:13, 58th W40

Half-Marathon

Kerry Strong, 1:58:42, 15th W50

Darryl De Lorme, 2:13:07, 83rd M50

Victoria Oppenlander, 2:42:02, 330th W30

Congrats runners!

Tacoma Marathon, Washington, April 29, 2023

Some spectacular news in the Regina running scene: Darwin Weimer just finished his 300th marathon. That’s right - 300th! Darwin ran the Tacoma city marathon in 5:47:50 and earned 6th place in the M65 division.

In the same event, Terry Weimer ran the half-marathon in 3:09:35, good for 8th in W65. And this was Terry’s 99th half-marathon!

Great job Weimers- we are so proud of and impressed by you!

Copenhagen Marathon, May 14, 2023

Congrats to Regina’s favourite marathoning couple for notching a marathon in a new country. Jan H. Steenkamp and Tania Diener finished the Copenhagen marathon in 4:56:54 and 5:27:57 respectively. The conditions were hot with no breeze, and Jan reported that runners “collapsed, vomited and just looked like shit”. Our duo survived well. Congratulations!

Spartan Trifecta, Bigfork MT, May 6, 7, 2023

Regina athletes had outstanding performances at the Spartan Trifecta weekend at Bigfork Montana on May 6-7. The weather was unkind with 50 mm of rain and cold temperatures making the distance, elevation gain and footing even more challenging. And if that’s not enough, participants in the 50 km ultra also face 60 obstacles like walls, ropes and mud pits. Our athletes in the 21 km Beast encountered 30 obstacles.

Jason Burns reported, “Most of the hanging / skill obstacles were virtually impossible to do because of the mud, rain and cold temperatures. In a lot of places the trail was a river of mud and looked and felt like running through shin deep chocolate pudding.  Most people I talked to were failing obstacles that they had never failed in the past. Each failed obstacle meant a 200-300 meter penalty loop so in total (my) ultra was 56.1 km with 2500 meters of gain.”

Jason had the fastest Regina time of 8:44:54 and placed 4th in the M45 age group. Jason's wife, Melissa Burns, won her W40 age group in the ultra event with a time of 10:24:55. Preston Schaffer also excelled in 8:50:38 for 4th in M35. With 500-1000 athletes in all distances, these placings are remarkable.

In the 21 km Beast distance, Joanne Noll was 1st in W65 and Sheila Durey was 2nd in W55, both in a time of 4:55:48.. Erin Nutilla finished in 6:11:24.

Congrats all for your impressive finishes! 

Vancouver Marathon, May 7, 2023

Regina runners earned some splendid results at the Vancouver marathon and half-marathon on May 7. Rob McLeod led the way with an age group win! Here are the Regina results:

Marathon

Rob McLeod, 3:15:21, 1st M60

James Gates, 3:19:09, 24th M45

Brigitta Sinaga, 3:50:24, 58th W25

Rebecca Sweeney, 3:58:37, 31st W20

Raquel Marshall, 3:53:13, 117th W25

Jamie Perkins, 4:06:37, 76th W35

Brad Jamison, 4:14:00, 281st M35

Blair Frederickson, 4:50:34, 27th M65

Half-Marathon

Brynn Latimer, 1:41:44, 61st W25

Noah Picton, 1:57:15, 437th M25

Sophie Young, 2:00:52, 118th W20

Candace Lizee, 2:03:01, 201st W40

Angela Arnold, 2:03:36, 89th W50

Jennifer Evancio, 2:08:54, 117th W50

Wynonna Mroczko, 2:11:39, 208th W20

Jessica Fox, 2:18:18, 615th W25

Dhon Gumban, 2:22:35, 352nd M40

Congratulations, runners, we are super proud of you!

Toronto Marathon, May 7, 2023

Good times at the Toronto marathon on May 7! Terra Jacobsen was fifth in the W50 division in 3:46:02. Yang Xie ran 3:42:37 for 100th in M25.

In the half-marathon, Danielle Evans ran 2:13:48 for 80th in W45. Congratulations, runners!

London Marathon, April 23, 2023

We had three Regina runners who finished the London marathon, one of the six world major marathons. 

Teresa Saccucci previously ran four of those majors and was thrilled to finish London as her fifth "star". She raved about the huge crowd support in the rain and the surreal energy on Tower bridge. Teresa ran 3:55:43, good for 641st in the W45 category.

Robert Davis ran a speedy time of 3:22:28 and placed 2865th in M18-39. Andrea Granger ran her FIRST marathon here in 5:17:27 for 2299th place in W40.

Congratulations runners - we are super proud of you!

Boston Marathon, April 17, 2023

Wow wow wow! Our Regina runners truly conquered Boston. Our fastest runner was Julia Totosy de Zepetnek who also posted the fastest time of all Saskatchewan runners! Stuart Kramer earned the highest age group placing. We are always excited when one of our runners runs a PR, and Abbey Schmidt did it here today!

A super special mention must go to Tania Diener who earned her Abbott World Majors six star medal for completing the six major marathons at Tokyo, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York, and now Boston.

Results were:

Julia Totosy de Zepetnek, 3:19:46, 1316th W18-39

Abbey Schmidt, 3:31:10, 2352nd W18-39

Yvonne Cafik, 3:52:26, 227th W55

Stuart Kramer, 4:37:56, 153rd M70

Tania Diener, 5:15:31, 757th W55

Congratulations, runners! We are so proud of you!

Antarctica Marathon, March 23, 2023 and Sao Paulo Marathon, April 2, 2023

Congratulations to Gay Renouf, who finished a quest to run a marathon on every continent. Gay finished the Antarctica marathon - a muddy, windy trail race with 1800 m of elevation gain and loss in 5:56:25 (20th W). She then ran the São Paulo marathon in South America on April 2, finishing in 4:44:48 (11th W60).

Big Island Half-Marathon, Hawaii, March 19, 2023

Congrats to Dale Harvey (our chief Gopher) who just finished his quest for a half-marathon in all 50 states in the US. Dale ran the Big Island International half on March 19. Despite the heat and humidity, he earned 15th place in the M60 age group with a 2:45:15. Congratulations Dale!

Antarctica Marathon, March 16, 2023

Congrats to Debbie Bellamy and Jennifer Evancio for their running race of a lifetime! They just finished the Antarctica half-marathon on March 16. The race is incredibly difficult - 590 m elevation gain and loss on gravel and mud. Jennifer ran 3:16:39 for 4th in W50 and Debbie ran 3:50:14 for 6th in W60.

Debbie has now run at least a half-marathon on all 7 continents; and this was Jennifer’s sixth continent. We are incredibly proud of our MM ladies - congrats!

Tokyo Marathon, March 5, 2023

Congrats to Cari Bode for her finish in the Tokyo marathon to earn her Abbott World Major six star medal today. Cari’s journey in this challenge was truly inspiring. The first of the six world major marathons she did was the Boston marathon - in fact, Cari was at the 2013 Boston when terrorists bombed the finish line. Luckily, Cari had finished twenty minutes earlier and was safe two blocks away.

Cari finished Boston in 2012; New York in 2016; Berlin in 2017; London and Chicago in 2018. Her fastest was a 3:35 in the 2015 Boston.

Cari had planned to wrap up her World Major quest in 2019 at the Tokyo marathon. After her Chicago race however, tests showed that she had a rare cancer. Cari went through a year of chemotherapy and surgeries - at first she couldn’t walk five minutes. But she started running again. Tokyo race today is her first marathon since beating cancer. Cari ran 4:56:52 - (1066th W45).

One of the photos shows Cari with her friend Jean Mathews - they met each other in the start corral of Boston in 2013 and have run several of the majors together.

Congrats to Cari for her inspiring route to achieving this incredible goal!

St Petersburg Marathon, Florida, February 12, 2023

Congrats to our favourite marathoning couple, Tania Diener and Jan Steenkamp, who just finished their second marathon of the year. The duo finished the St Petersburg distance classic in Florida. Tania was 7th in her W55 age group with 5:20:36, and Jan was 15th in M55 in 5:05:09. Way to go!

Cure for the Brrr Marathon, Half-Marathon, and Loop Run, Jan 8, 2023

What a day! We had hoar frost, a beautiful sunrise, (sort of mild weather) -17 to -8 degrees, and lots of smiling runners. Here are the results:

Ultra runners

Razvan Rusescu, 47.0 k, 6:00:05

Melissa Burns, 46.4 k, 6:00:00

Jason Burns, 45.7 k, 6:00:00

Zoe Clin, 45.0, 6:48:00

Marathon

Conor Renouf, 3:30:53

Gay Renouf, 5:08:58

Dave Buchner, 5:25:08

Jan Steenkamp, 5:28:14

Tania Diener, 5:42:47

Half-Marathon

Trevor Hopkin, 1:42:28

Rob McLeod, 1:42:28

Paula Bzdell, 1:58:37

Craig Herrington, 2:13:12

Christopher Hall, 2:31:21

Wendy Tomyk, 2:36:19

Greg Chovin, 2:40:00

Dale Harvey, 2:41:24

Shelley Zerr, 2:49:00

Blair Morris, 2:54:23

Donna Jackson, 2:55:31 

Loops

Chris Tetlock 32.0 k, 2:48:54

Gary Larson, 32.0 k, 3:20:07

Sheila Durey, 30.7 k, 4:03:00

Zoey Kim-Zegelaar, 30.1 k, 4:09:01

Gaylene Jeannot, 28.0, 2:36:08 (half in 1:57:08)

Michael Dahlman, 26.0 k, 2:40:01

Michel Turmel, 25.4 k

Abbey Schmidt, 24.3 k, 2:23:49

Lauren McLellan, 24.0 k, 2:24:21

Ryan Clark, 24.0 k, 2:24:21

Jason Hubick, 24.0 k, 2:41:00

Dave MacDonald, 22.1 k, 2:03:21

Ken Eade, 20.0 k, 1:47:10

Deidre Roberts, 20.3 k, 3:35:53

Katherine Robinson, 20.0 k, 2:49:30

Jon Paradowski, 20.0 k

Heidi Schmalz, 20.0 k

Allison Samoleski, 16.0 k, 1:47:09

Chantel De Lorme, 16.0 k, 1:58:09

Natasha Lumsden, 16.0 k, 2:05:57

Christian Riegel, 16.0 k, 2:14:28

Debra Anderson, 16.0 k, 2:20:15

Joanne Noll, 16.0 k, 2:20:40

Brenda Stricker, 16.0 k

Craig Johnson, 16.0 k

Laurie Campbell, 16.0 k?

Matt Stephenson, 15.0 k, 1:21:10

Adam Hicks, 15.0 k, 1:21:10

Nick Dalrymple, 13.6 k, 2:00:00

Sandy MacDonald, 12.8 k, 1:56:09

Sherry Chestney, 12.0 k, 1:19:16

Constance Kozak, 12.1 k, 2:10:01

Kerri Clark, 12.0 k, 1:43:12

Meghan Braithwaite, 12.0 k, 1:43:12

Deanne Selinger, 12.0 k, 1:43:13

Susan Schneider, 12.0 k, 2:08:23

Patrice Turmel, 12.0 k, 2:08:23

April Lloyd, 12.0 k, 2:08:36

Aubrey Swift, 12.0 k, 2:09:00

Jack Allan, 11.7 k, 1:17:57

Kazia Katende, 11.7 k, 1:19:16

Sherri Finley, 8.0 k, 1:00:21

Shari Mosthaf, 8.0 k, 1:25:15

Stacey Rennebohm, 7.7 k, 1:02:17

Kristal Lockhart, 7.7 k, 1:02:17

Morgan Allen, 4.0, 25:25

Stacey Lulik 4.1 k, 0:43:00

Sue Bayliss, 4.0 k

Congrats runners, and thank you to our volunteers, Constance Kozak, Wanda Bouchard-Barry, Verne Bolen, Rob McLeod, Gaylene Jeannot, and Pat Eatock!